Networks enable computers to share information. Increasingly, this information is entertainment-related media such as movies, music, pictures and print. In the broad sense, a computer network includes not only physical interconnections but also transports data via physical media such as optical discs. Physical media transport is important for reaching devices that do not have access to a physical network. These include low cost or legacy devices such as consumer electronics equipment as well as mobile devices such as portable and automobile based electronics.
In order to enable mobility of digital audio and video, many commercial portable digital players have been developed. These digital media players have internal storage for holding a collection of entertainment-related media files, which allows the devices to hold a subset of the content available from a personal collection and the larger network. These devices generally operate by having the user copy the content on the device itself which is equipped with embedded screens and speakers, and do not easily interface with existing entertainment equipment without separate peripherals.
In general, the potential use of the portable media suffers since there are many environments that cannot access the media libraries on these existing devices without a separately attached peripheral. Some examples of existing inaccessible environments include a TV in the living room, speakers in the car or a legacy portable audio device. Moreover, the peripheral needed in different situations can vary widely.